as in extramarital
relating to or being a sexual encounter or relationship between a married person and someone other than their spouse
had an adulterous affair that nearly destroyed his marriage
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Recent Examples of adulterous
In the months since the incident unfolded at Gillette Stadium, the public — which was quick to discover that Cabot worked as an HR executive under Byron, and that both were married to other people at the time — has been quick to brand the pair as adulterous villains.
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Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 18 Dec. 2025
The supernatural thriller sees a woman return from death as a vindictive spirit to torment her adulterous husband.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 26 June 2025
But with a twist so big — Sarah being the killer of her adulterous husband Adam’s mistress, Kelly Summers, and the one who set him up for the murder while simultaneously defending him tooth and nail in court — where was Rose to go after that?
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025
Nor did anyone blink when Shonda Rhimes set Scandal within the White House of a wishy-washy, adulterous GOP President who’d unwittingly stolen an election.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adulterous
Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 18 Dec. 2025
The supernatural thriller sees a woman return from death as a vindictive spirit to torment her adulterous husband.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 26 June 2025
But with a twist so big — Sarah being the killer of her adulterous husband Adam’s mistress, Kelly Summers, and the one who set him up for the murder while simultaneously defending him tooth and nail in court — where was Rose to go after that?
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 29 Apr. 2025
Nor did anyone blink when Shonda Rhimes set Scandal within the White House of a wishy-washy, adulterous GOP President who’d unwittingly stolen an election.
—Judy Berman, TIME, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for adulterous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adulterous
Adjective
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Ten days earlier, Jeff Bezos had announced his divorce from MacKenzie Scott shortly after the National Enquirer reported on Bezos’ extramarital affair with Lauren Sanchez.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
14 Mar. 2026
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The extramarital romantic relationship started in May 2024 while Sinema served in Congress, and bodyguard Matthew Ammel was still married.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
13 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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According to a 2024 indictment in Crump’s case, assaults are often committed by the club in order to protect and expand territory, intimidate rivals, conceal members from law enforcement and advance extracurricular criminal projects.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
13 Mar. 2026
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But the rematch lived up to the hype in every way, aside from the lack of extracurricular activity.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
10 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adulterous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adulterous. Accessed 17 Mar. 2026.
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